Want to Help?

Sycamore Island on the San Joaquin River

Want to Help?

| | | | | | | | | | | | | |

FIRST; A big thank you for the things we have been able to REMOVE from the need/want list. Specifically -

1. Thank you Dave Koehler and the San Joaquin River Parkway for sending in a chipper and crew and removing the majority of the brush piles of giant reed.

2. Thank you Carl Johnson for your help in repairing the ramp to the river.

3. Thank you Sy Allen, Rick Chapman, and Rods Power Bait for assisting in the proccurring, welding, and erecting of our flag pole.

4. Thank you to Randy Middleton of Middleton Signs for your outstanding work in providing the new sign at the entrance. Way cool, brother!

5. Thank you to Brian Johnson (not related to Carl) for helping renovate the Bait Shop into a room that is public-friendly and pretty cozy.

6. Thank you to Valley Irrigation and Pump for your donation of parts and your consulting in repairing and maintaining the well pump. Without this we would have nearly 200 acres of dead or dying trees.

Why do we need volunteers on SJRC property?

The San Joaquin River Conservancy is the State Agency that administers this area and many others. Falcontail Enterprises is the onsite operator/manager. As many of you know, the State budget was non-existent or frozen for many many months. Even with a budget, parks, in general, are low on the totempole for money. Eventually some will trickle down. In the meantime, your $9 gate fee and $5 launch fee pays for everything. Most of it goes for the various insurances needed to allow public access. The third biggest expense was a surprise - repairs, maintenance, and replacement costs due to vandalism. The access fees allow this to be a sustainable enterprise open to the public, BUT doesn't create a lot of extra money to build and do the things many of you want to see here. That's where creativity and volunteers come in..........

What the Island Needs

1. Indiana Jones Crew. The scarlet wisteria, aka Chinese Rattlebox aka sesbania has been running amok and eating up the banks of the rivers and ponds and ravishing the access to the water. Since 2005 it has taken over 20 miles of the river bank on both sides of the river downstream from the bridge at Highway 41. That is 4 miles a year, people! Whereas it does not grow IN THE WATER but seldom more than 20 feet away, it is not considered a RIPARIAN plant, hence the California Department of Agriculture Invasive Plant Division has refused to acknowledge it, much less deal with it. As each plant produces enough seed (which are aquatic and swim quite nicely) to sprout 5000 more plants when the floating seeds encounter dirt, within 10 years, this plant will devour nearly ALL access to the river between Fresno and the Delta. California will then face the same water/flood crisis that South Africa encountered with this plant 30 years ago. Make no mistake, this problem is well on its way and being fully ignored by the agencies and departments that should be dealing with it.

So......as this is a noxious, non-indigenous, invasive plant, aka WEED, please feel free to pluck it, hack it and pile it roadside. I repeat, PLEASE ENDANGER THIS PLANT. This can be picked up later and trucked to the brush pile in the back.

2. Camp Sites We can have camping here again once we have "designated campsites". What this translates into is park-style grills concreted into place so that coals cannot be tipped onto the ground.

These can be seen at Lost Lake and Millerton Lake camping areas.

(I will add a picture here as I get one.). Currently, the SJRC Board has voted out camping as an option siting liability reasons. To change this will take public lobbying to let them know there is an interest in this.

WHAT WE REALLY NEED

a GOOD RAIN DANCE!